Featured: Tosca Reno of The Eat-Clean Diet & Emily Henderson of HGTV

As you may or may not know, I am a HUGE fan of a very wonderful and inspirational woman by the name of Tosca Reno. She's the "Eat-Clean" lady and one of my biggest motivators when it comes to diet and exercise. Her books are my absolutely bible/go-tos for cooking and all things healthy, so when she approached me about writing a guest blog for her, of course I said yes! Hop over to Tosca's blog and check out what I had to say about my own healthy-eating journey. And if you don't already know who the lovely Ms. Reno is, take a moment and look around, I'm sure you're bound to find lots of inspiration. Her husband Robert Kennedy also publishes my most favorite magazine, Oxygen, and a million other books and magazines dedicated to health and fitness.  Thank you again Tosca for having me!

I also recently contributed to Emily Henderson's (from HGTV's Design Star and her own show, Secrets of a Stylist) holiday gift guide. It's so much fun to to browse through and I've already bookmarked some great ideas for various people in my life. My article is on pages 174-177, but the whole guide is really amazing and absolutely worth a look!  If you have any trouble with the embedded guide below, click here to view it outside of my site.

Happy Wednesday, all! xo

Guest posting over on Busy Bee!

I'm guest posting on my friend Lauren's blog today, so hop on over to read more about why I absolutely love Arizona!

I'll be back later tonight with photos from Taylor Swift and the wedding reception last night. Happy Sunday, all! xo

Guest Post: Katie from Skunkboy Creatures

Hello, Sometimes Sweet readers!  My name is Katie and I run a little blog called Skunkboy Creatures.  I am so happy to be sharing with you today while Danielle is away.  I just adore that lovely girl and this beautiful blog!

I have a baby girl named Poesy who just turned six months old, and that baby will not stop growing!  It seems like only yesterday we found out we were having another little one and were filled with emotions.  We were so nervous about having a baby because we hadn't had a little one around in eight years, but we were excited about the sweet, new addition to our family!  Now she's eating solids, scooting around, and laughing like a little person!  I keep telling her to slow down, but she refuses to listen.  Sheesh... babies...

Since babies seem to be such terrible listeners on this subject, I've written a formal open letter to all babies.  Here it is:

Dear Babies,

        I am speaking on the behalf of mothers everywhere when I say, "Stop growing so fast!"  We mommies need to hold you a little longer, take care of you a little better, and enjoy your company even more.  You go from sleeping all day and waking only to eat, to gobbling pureed vegetables and scooting around the room in an instant!  Life goes by fast when you are old, and even though this may feel like a lifetime to you, it's a blink of an eye to us!  So I beg you, PLEASE, stop growing so fast... or, at least slow time down a little, okay?

Thank you for your time, adorable squishy babies.

xoxo
Katie

Guest Post: Allie from It's a Wonderful Life

Hello Sometimes Sweet readers! My name is Allie and I'm a newly married, newly mommed gal from Savannah, Georgia. I am so excited to be writing here today, thanks for having me Danielle!

Growing up, my mom always took the time to tell us magical stories. I fondly remember refilling the silver thimble on the window's ledge with water so that the fairies would have something to drink at night. One time she handed me a glass bottle of glitter and told me it was pixie dust (I was really into Peter Pan) and I spent a good half hour in the backyard, sprinkling it on my head and jumping off rocks in hopes of flying. I was that kid who believed in Santa for an uncomfortable amount of time.

My mom was always coming up with these little stories, fun and silly things to believe in. And every time she told us a new one I believed her. This curiosity she sparked within me made life seem so....special. I mean, if there really is a fairy in the fridge who turns the light on and off then what other amazing things does this world have to offer me? With each tale, my imagination blossomed. I realized that there are greater things out there and that we are just a small part of a bigger piece. That there is so much to discover.

As my own baby grows I am even more thankful for the sense wonderment towards the unknown that my mother instilled in me. Henry's own amazement for new discoveries is more apparent to me and it's something I will never grow tired of watching. As he enters toddlerhood, I am looking forward to passing on some of the stories my mom told to us. I want him to trudge through the woods with a spy notebook and really believe he's solving a great mystery. I want him him to look up at the stars and wonder what else is out there and how he can get to it. I want Henry to believe in the impossible for as long as he can and to grow up with a profound curiosity about everything around him. Isn't childhood beautiful?

Guest Post: Stephanie Sparer

Hey, I'm Stephanie Sparer. I blog for Hello Giggles but I can be seen at StephanieSparer.com and on twitter. I'm currently looking for a job, so feel free to hire me. Special talents include: knowing the lyrics to Miley Cyrus' song "Party in the USA" and being addicted to Earl Grey tea. Oh, also I can write really well. Just ask my mom.

-----

I’ve always been a night owl. Even as a kid I was fond of staying up, what I considered late at the time, and watching Letterman’s top ten list. I always felt like an adult watching Letterman even though I must have been all but nine. Something about his gapped teeth and movie star guests screamed mature to me. And at ten, that’s really all I ever wanted to be. A movie star. Not so much mature. “One of my special talents is staying up all night,” I used to tell people. To me this felt special and unique; something a lot of my friends didn’t do unless they were at one of the sleepovers Tiffany Billings threw that I wasn’t invited to.

My mother wasn’t entirely thrilled with this special talent of mine. To keep me on a regular schedule and to keep me from fighting it, my mom put out a little lie to me, “Letterman only does the top ten on Fridays,” she said. And I believed her until a few years later when I was sick and up later than usual and Letterman had a top ten list. On a Wednesday. “Must be a repeat,” my mom tried to cover her tracks, but by then, I totally knew how to check our TiVo guide and get the facts.

This wasn’t the only thing my mother lied about. As a young kid, maybe six, I decided that I didn’t like chicken anymore. I only wanted to eat duck. Seemed reasonable at the time. This of course was brought on after a 20/20 special where someone got sick from eating chicken. That was kind of my thing as a kid. I wouldn’t watch Fraggle Rock, but I’d watch 20/20 every Friday and scare myself into thinking I was going to be kidnapped, poisoned with anthrax, or killed at any given moment. In fact, shortly after a story about how someone bombed a Texaco gas station, we stopped at a Texaco to fill our car with gas. Little me burst into tears in the back seat and said, “Good-bye, everyone.” My mother got back in the car utterly confused and asked me what happened. “We’re going to die as soon as you start the car!” I told her and she sighed.

“Different Texaco!” she insisted, but I didn’t believe her until we were already home. Three days later. She vowed never to let me watch John Stossel or his mustache give any special news reports ever again.

Obviously, this didn’t work. I saw the E. coli special one night and after that, every time my mom ordered out from the Asian rice bowl chain restaurant around the corner from us when she didn’t want to cook, I always asked her to order me duck with my rice. Not chicken. Duck. She always complied, coming home and double-checking the bowls. “This one is yours,” she’d say, picking out a bowl for me after opening all the Styrofoam containers and comparing them together. I’d happily eat my rice and duck.

Years later, my mother grabbed me out of 11th grade science class as a surprise to be nice.  We got our nails done and then decided we were hungry, stopping off at the Asian rice bowl chain we used to go to when I was little. I peered at the menu. Chicken, chicken and vegetables, salmon... I looked at my mom, “They took the duck off the menu?”

She bit her lip and started to laugh, “Oh,” she said, “Stephanie, I have something to tell you: you were never eating duck. They only ever just had chicken. You’ve been eating chicken all these years.”
I was sixteen and my entire life was a lie. I didn’t even know who I was anymore. Was my name even really Stephanie? Was she even my mother? Was Velveeta really a cheese? Yes, yes, and no. But I guess after that whole E. coli outbreak, really I was just lucky to be alive.

Guest Post: Melissa of Dear Baby

Hi Sometimes Sweet readers! I'm Melissa, mama to  1 & 1/2 year old Everly and 6 week old Arlo and I write a little 'ol blog called Dear Baby. Dani was so sweet to let me stop in and hang out today, so I thought I'd share a little adventure our family recently went on.

Last week we got itchy to get out of the house and decided to indulge our daughter in one of her greatest loves. Ducks. I'm not sure why, but this child of ours is obsessed with ducks. It started with an infinity for the squeaky rubber ducky in her bath and has quickly morphed into pointing out ducks as if we are living in an ongoing game of Where's Waldo. "DUCK MAMA!" she yells as she spots a tiny duck embroirdered on her brother's onesie. "Duck. Duck. Duck" she points them out on each page of the Animals on the Farm book completely ignoring my exuberant efforts to get her to share in my love of horses. "Look at the pretty brown horse, Everly!" I say, "Horses say neigh, neigh". "DUCK!" she says back to me.

So off we went to our local park to feed the ducks.

As soon as she spotted them, she starts chirping "Duck! Duck!" pointing to them left and right. She was rocking back on her heels, squealing and clapping and chasing those poor little buggers as they ran away from her.

We decided to pull out a pack of crackers to share with our new feathered friends and suddenly found ourselves surrounded on all sides by waterfowl, including one very large and very aggressive goose who started poking my leg with his beak to get my attention. This goose had clearly never heard the words "personal space" and Everly decided that for as much as she LOVES ducks, she very much does not love geese.

So she spent the entire time we fed the ducks and geese like this:

Not exactly how I had pictured it, that's for sure... but eventually the nosey goose and his friends realized that our treats were gone and they waddle off to find someone else to feed them. Everly released her death grip on my legs and headed out  once more after the little ones singing "Duck! Duck!" with so much joy in her voice.

Arlo, on the other hand, slept through the whole thing. Apparently he doesn't share his sister's passion.

These little adventures are some of my favorite moments as a parent. So simple and uncomplicated. Most often spontaneous. And the very essence of what childhood is all about.

Guest Post: Cassie from The Veda House

Hi, Cassie from The Veda House here! I was excited when Danielle asked me to guest blog for her while she was out in New Jersey for vacation. I saw this as an opportunity to share a relatively easy DIY project that even a busy mama can try.

Block printing on fabric can be as simple or as complicated as you make it. I'd suggest sticking with a simple design for newbies and working you're way up as your comfort level grows. You can use any kind of fabric you'd like, but the smoother the better. Once your done printing, you'll have a totally unique piece of fabric to turn into anything you dream. (seat covers, pillow cases, kitchen napkins, etc) Feel free to email me with questions if you get stuck during the process. There are also a lot of online tutorials out there you can peruse.

THE SIMPLE STEPS:

1. Draw your design directly onto the linoleum block with a pencil. Using a pencil will allow you to change things up if you choose. Remember, this doesn't need to be perfect.

 

2.  Once you have the design how you want it, outline the design in permanent marker so it is easier to see while you are carving.

3. Etch/carve out the negative areas on the linoleum with carving tools. ( I have a tool set that allows me to switch between blade thicknesses for different line qualities) *cut away from your body ;)

4. Using a brayer ( or paintbrush), apply fabric ink on your linoleum block. "Ink" up your brayer by rolling it back and forth over the ink in your ink tray. Make sure the entire surface is covered in ink.

5. Stamp the design onto the right side of your fabric by using firm even pressure. (your pattern can be completely random or more geometric) Continue to ink the linoleum block as necessary.

6. When you are done stamping, let your fabric dry over night

7. After completely dry, iron your fabric to set the ink in place (follow ink brand instruction). Donzo!

*Tips:
-  if you by a linoleum block that is super stiff and hard to cut into, you can iron/warm the block on the iron's lowest setting.
-  if you are feeling unsure, you can do test prints on sheets of paper
-  there is no need to carve deep cuts to make it work properly. Carving shallow cuts works just as well. Hooray!

I hope you enjoy what you see here. When you have a second or two, stop by my blog to see how I bring hand-mades and vintage into my life!

Guest Post: Ashley of I Believe in Unicorns

Hello, I'm Ashley from i believe in unicorns. 

I just about died when Danielle asked me to guest post. 

Is she not the most adorable person, and nice to boot?!

Over on my blog I love to do a feature called {Top Five} on Friday. 

I list my 'whatever i feel like' favorites, and then I ask for my readers input.

It's a great way to share ideas and get to know everyone a little better. 

So I'd love to hear some of your ideas as well!

Without further ado, my

{Top Five} Date Ideas on a Budget:

Learning the Argentine Tango with my German friends, Christian.

 1. Learn to Dance.

In almost every city there are places that teach partner dancing lessons. 

Decide if you'd like Latin, Swing, or Ballroom and try out a class. 

They're usually only about $5-7 a person. 

It's a great way to have fun, be active, and observe patience and perseverance skills ;)

2. Movie At Home, But Make It A Little More Interesting.

Hit up your local movie store, redbox, or netflix, pop some popcorn, build a fort, and snuggle up while you watch your favorite flick. (This is fun to do with kids as well!)

Total cost around $5.

source

3. Get a Couples Massage.

Go to a massage school sometimes they have 2 for $20 deals!

Or perhaps give each other massages for free :)

4. Paint!

Stop in at your favorite art supplier a pick up some super cheap canvases, paints and brushes. 

Turn on some good tunes and paint what you feel. You can learn all sorts of things on this date.

(I had no idea my husband, Marcus, was artistic until we did this.)

Total cost around $20.

5. Watch Planes come in at the Tarmac.

Get some deliciously refreshing glass bottle sodas, borrow a friends truck (if you don't have one), fill the back up with pads and pillows and enjoy your time watching the planes come in and talking.

I hope you got some fun ideas. 

Now let's hear some of your favorite dates!

Guest Post: Erin from Happy Owl

Hi there! I've been lucky enough to know Danielle a couple years now and you might have seen me in a guest post here and there. My name is Erin from Happy Owl and I have two beautiful sons Noah and Logan and an amazing husband named Mike. We live in Juneau, Alaska and love to explore all that our town has to offer.

My family spent 10 days in Maui a couple of weeks ago and the funniest of things happened. While we were enjoying our first night in paradise, playing in the pool, my iphone fell in the water. Ahhh! My 2 month old phone, still shiny and new, wet and broken! Who would have thought that something like this would have sparked an eye-opening discussion with my husband and a new outlook on self for me. So here goes. My embarrassing, yet real reality I had to face. By far the best gift I got from our vacation.

The first thing I thought when I realized my poor pitiful phone was not coming back on was pure sadness. How am I going to connect; take pictures, read emails, update my blog and facebook? I told Mike immediately, we need to get some rice, soak up the moisture, get my phone back working!! That's when my sweet husband looked at me and in his nicest way said, "Erin, you are addicted to social networking."

Of course at first I said, "no, ME?!! I don't blog everyday, and barely use twitter. I mainly use it for pictures!!"

Mike just laughed and said, "sure..." and that was the end of that discussion. However, it left me thinking. I took a little walk with Logan and really dug deep down and thought about what Mike had said. Too much social networking, for me, could it be true? Come to find out my husband, as most husbands are, was spot on.

Not having my phone made me realize how much I relied on it and the instant gratification and response I could get from it. I was constantly posting pictures on instagram, checking my emails, and reading other blogs, etc. The funny thing was is that I was not spending hours upon hours on the web. But my problem WAS is that I was constantly checking my social networking sites. I thought a couple weeks that I was taking a step back and deleted twitter off my phone. That way I wouldn't check it. But haha! Right about then twitter added a new feature where you are emailed every time someone @ you. So I still found myself responding to people here and there. So really I was just the same.

Now I know so many of you whether you like to admit it or not are doing the same thing. And don't worry, I am NOT calling any of you bad people. There are many good people out there that blog/tweet/facebook daily and I think you still are all fabulous. But all that I want you to think about is would you be able to live without it? Even for a day, week, dare I say month? Taking a step back for me was the best thing that could have happened. I realized that for me, and my family there is so much more than updating status', instagram and facebook. So here is the dare I give to you. Take a day, a whole day away from your smartphones and see how it makes you feel. If there is even a smidge of discomfort then yeah!! Maybe then you'll see how much you relied on the instant joys of social networking. Maybe then, you go on a hike, a campout, even go to the swap meet for a day without updating the world on where you've been, what you ate and what you bought. :) I know for me it's been amazing. Time to get back to making phone calls, writing letters, sending postcards and disconnecting just a bit and enjoying the sweet life. One quiet hour at a time; just as our parents and grandparents still do...

Now I leave you with this commercial I saw the other night. So, so fitting, so funny, so true.




Thanks for listening....erin

Guest Post: Moorea from Moorea Seal

Hi everyone!  My name is Moorea and I blog over at Moorea-Seal.com.  I am a jewelry designer, an illustrator focusing in portraiture, a blogger, and a blog designer with Freckled Nest Designs.  Being a 25 year old, running my own businesses, I try to be very cautious with my money and I feel pretty guilty if I ever go on big shopping sprees.  Most of my money goes towards bills, feeding myself, and investing back into my businesses.  I've never been into collecting knick knacks of any kind, I buy almost all of my furniture second hand, and I prefer my spaces to be clean and minimal.  But, as it seems true for everyone, I do have my one guilty pleasure.  SHOES!

As with most things, I try to only buy things when they are on sale.  I love my shoes, a lot, but I don't want to spend a ridiculous amount of money on them.  There are lots of ways to get high quality things without paying full price.  Having been a shoe addict since I was little, I've come to find that the best place to get really high quality shoes that will last for years and years AND are really affordable is Nordstrom Rack.  I've gotten shoes that were originally priced in the hundreds marked down to just $20 before.  I think I bought the tall boots in center of the image below for about $30 marked down
from $180 at Nordstrom Rack at least 7 years ago and they are still in great shape and still stylish.  So worth it!

As you can tell, I definitely have a certain style that I stick to.  I prefer neutral colors, leather, sometimes I'm a little bit earthy/woodsy and sometimes I'm a little bit edgy with tall tall heels.  I don't wear shoes that will kill my feet, so I am picky about the heels I pick out.  And honestly, heels are much more comfortable for me than flats because I have a super high arch.

I think that shoes are the most important part of any outfit I put together.  Accessories are my favorite (obviously, since I'm a jewelry designer, haha) and shoes are a favorite accessory of mine.  They make me feel comfortable while I'm on the go and each shoe style reflects my varying moods perfectly.

After taking these photos of my shoes stacked on my living room shelves I definitely took a step back and said, well, I probably don't need to buy any more shoes ever again!  I've got all my bases covered for styles that I like.  I've collected these shoes over a very very long period of time, years and years.  And I'm glad I almost never pay full price because I'd feel awful if I looked at these shoes everyday and thought about the amount of money I'd spent on them.  So, I doubt I'll be buying any shoes anytime soon.

Do you have any guilty pleasures or vices?  What do you do to make sure you don't go crazy with it?  I am thankfully at a point, looking at my shoes, where I can say.  Alright, I don't need any more at all unless I sell some or donate some.  I also have spending limits so I'm not just buying every shoe I see as I walk down the street.  How do you keep yourself in check?

Guest Post: Kristine of Kristine or Polly

Hello Sometimes Sweet readers! My name is Kristine and I run a personal style blog called Kristine or Polly.

Mostly, my blog is about my personal style, but today, I'd like to share with you a bit about where I live!

My husband and I moved from America to Japan in April to teach English. It has been such an eye opening experience for us both, and we absolutely love it! Here are a few of my favorite things about living in Japan:

1. The history.

Living in a place with such rich history is absolutely incredible. I grew up in a place where it seems nothing is older than thirty years, so it's such a treat to be able to visit places that have been long-standing for hundreds of years!

2. The architecture 

I love seeing how differently the houses and buildings are designed here. There is also a very interesting juxtaposition of traditional Japan and modern Japan, which I love. 

3. The food.

Japanese food is delicious, and best of all, it's generally healthy! Most of the staple meals here are very light and very well-balanced. Japanese people are known to have high quality standards, so they always use fresh ingredients. 

4. The beauty in every day.
Coming from Arizona, it's just so wonderful to wake up in a place that is so green and lush. Walking outside of my neighborhood, there are such amazing mountains and fields to gawk at. Sometimes, it really feels like I live in a movie or a completely different world. I hope I never become numb to the beauty that Japan offers!

If you'd like to read more about me and my personal style, come on over to Kristine or Polly! Thanks Danielle for letting me guest post today! 

Guest Post: Amber Joy from Until Tomorrow

Hey Sometimes Sweet readers! Amber here, from Until Tomorrow. I am so excited to FINALLY do a guest post regarding this crazy beast of a thigh tattoo that some of you have asked Danielle about! Let me start off by saying I am 24, this is my very first tattoo and I am incredibly glad that I waited! Although I am still very young, I feel that I know myself a lot better then I did at 18...19..20..21...22...you get the point. I also know exactly what I want to do in life, because even though our society is becoming much more tattoo friendly, let's be real, people judge based on  preconceived notions of tattooed folks.

I have been around and befriended by both moderately and heavily tattooed individuals and each one has given me their own little piece of the tattoo secret, but the best advice was most definitely given by Mrs. Hampton herself! Don't start off visible, especially if you're like me and don't respond so well to old lady jibes, being touched by strangers and/or hearing people's tattoo life stories (ugh)! Start with a piece somewhere where you can choose if another person sees it and get your feet wet every now and again..then tattoo your face....jussstttt kiiidddiiinngggg. Also, if people tell you a tattoo doesn't hurt...ask them how Gepetto is doing, because they're lying to you. Granted, some places hurt more than others (back of your thigh for one), but it all hurts to some extent. I mean think of the process...OUCH.

One of the hardest parts of the (large) tattoo territory for me has been the session situation. The line work was a 4.5 hr sitting and now just a piece of the framework and some shading took 3 hrs. I was under the impression that this was going to take just a mere two sessions and then TADA tattoo! Not the case. My artist informed me that I probably have another 6-7 hrs to go...oh ,discouraged! Once I had moved through the major disappointment I was seriously overcome with such gratitude. The guy really cares and isn't half-assing anything. Good artist who takes care and time = a good tattoo worth your care and time!

Last but not least here are a few things that got me through the process and pain:

1.  EAT and eat well i.e protein, carbs and some healthy sugars. Even if you are nervous and think you might throw up.

2.  When it hurts concentrate on breathing. Yoga style. Totally works and I don't budge an inch (I was told I sit like an angel)!

3.  If you  watch it actually becomes really intriguing and really takes your mind off what is actually happening.

4. If your BFF is a new mommy...BRING HER, because if you aren't discussing breast milk and mangoes while you're under the needle you aren't really living!